


Fantasy versus Reality

by GrumpyJenn



Category: Doctor Who RPF
Genre: Conventions, Delusional Disorder, Explicit Language, Fantasy vs Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-18
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-18 22:45:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/566105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpyJenn/pseuds/GrumpyJenn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an unbalanced fan goes too far, can Alex's friends help her? And what happens afterward?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alex is Missing

**_April, 2013_ **

“So,” said Matt Smith to the small room crowded with fans, “We can’t tell you yet who will be in the Anniversary special - spoilers! - so we’ve basically gotten everyone who’s ever been on _Who_ and available to come promote it. For this panel, we’ve got me, I’m Matt; I play the Doctor, the Eleventh one. And a few of my friends: John, the er... _friendly_ Captain Jack; Dave, the Tenth Doctor, who makes me look short and fat by comparison; and lovely Penelope, who played the Former Prime Minister of Britain. All together now...” and he conducted the audience in a rousing chorus of _Yes, we know who she is_! He continued, “And the beautiful Alex, who plays River Song, Melody Pond, the woman who m... Alex? Where are you dear?” The audience tittered, thinking this was a prank; Alex would come onstage doing something outrageous in a minute.

But she didn’t.

Now the audience was murmuring, whispering amongst themselves, and Matt beckoned one of the wait staff over. “Could you be lovely and check on Miss Kingston?” he whispered in the girl’s ear, and she blushed and nodded and said she’d get the room number from the front desk. Matt thanked her and held up his hands to get the audience’s flagging attention. “Right, well, we’ve sent someone after her. You know River; she’s probably off insulting a Sontaran or something, right?” There were nods and laughs throughout the mob of people, and one chubby young man - in a fairly cool Slitheen costume, Matt thought, just a zipper affixed to his forehead with a strip of lighting behind it - shouted out that River was wasting her skills on Sontarans; she should blast through a cadre of Silents instead.

\---/--- 

“Th-this note was at Miss Kingston’s door, Mr. Smith,” said the girl who Matt had sent off to find Alex. “It’s addressed to ‘The Doctor’ so I guess it’s for you.”

Matt smiled and took it from her, thanking her. “Well, I _am_ the current Doctor. I suppose she’s pranking us all or something like that.” He smiled around at the crowd and opened the note. His eyes widened as he read it silently and then he folded it and slipped it into his pocket. “If she _is_ pranking us, she’s gone a bit far this time,” he said in a dull sort of voice, and he didn’t seem to notice that his hands were shaking slightly. “Could someone go find Moff for me please?” he said, and several people started checking their convention packets to see where Steven was.

 _Oh god_ , thought Matt, _I hope she and Moff_ **_are_** _pranking us because this is **not** funny, not funny at all_. He shivered slightly as he recalled the words in the note:

_Tick tock goes the clock,_

_Your former lover’s got her,_

_Tick tock goes the clock,_

_Come find your River, Doctor._

Matt snapped the microphone off and sat, brooding, until Moff and his panel-mates all gathered around him. “What was in the note, Matthew?” asked Penelope softly, and he told them.

“If this is some prank you and Alex have cooked up, Steven, I don’t think it’s funny,” said Matt in a low, furious tone, and Steven shook his head.

“She may be pulling a prank, Matt, but I don’t think so. _I_ had nothing to do with it,” Steven said, and he looked so distressed that Matt had to believe him. “I’m worried,” he admitted. “This... it isn’t her style. There’s no help for it. Give me the note, Matt.” Matt handed it to him wordlessly. “Thanks.” Steven turned the mic back on, and spoke gruffly into it. “Listen, everyone. We’ve this note, which sounds ominous. Could be a prank, by Alex or someone else, or it could be... serious. Let’s... let’s check it out ourselves, right, because if it _is_ a prank, we don’t want trouble.” There were nods all around the room as Steven read the note and then began breaking people up into teams to search for Alex.

Matt ditched his team as soon as he could; they were lovely people, but he was nearly frantic with worry for Alex, and they were too _slow_ , arguing over which direction she’d gone, treating the whole thing as some sort of mad scavenger hunt. He supposed that was only natural. They didn’t really know her, didn’t realise she’d never think of _this_ sort of joke on her own; she was too basically kind to frighten her friends and fans on purpose like this. It was easy to lose the team in this hotel; it was the site of an old castle, with bits of outbuildings in ruins and labyrinthine corridors in the cellar.

So he went on alone, careful to make sure that he could still hear some of his friends as they all looked for Alex, calling her name and making silly jokes about River and the Doctor while he fretted.

\---/---

Matt opened the door to the tiny storage room in the cellar and stopped still in a state of utter dismay.

“Hello, Sweetie,” said Alex tensely from the chair where she sat, “You remember _Rose Tyler_...” She inclined her head at the young brunette standing behind her and to one side.

The brunette had a knife. A very long, very sharp-looking knife.

 _Shit,_ thought Matt, _be very careful here, Smith._ “Of course I do,” he said, amazed at how steady his voice was. “But Rose, you’ve... changed.”

The girl’s smile was brilliant. “I’ve regenerated,” she said in a confidential tone. “The Bad Wolf, you know.” Matt stared at her and Alex shifted her weight slightly, her face looking drawn and frightened. That was when Matt noticed she was handcuffed to the back of the chair. But the brunette was still talking. “At least, I think it’s the Bad Wolf,” she said doubtfully, and frowned. “I can’t think of another reason for me to regenerate, can you?”

Matt shook his head and forced himself to speak normally. If Alex could manage to play along with this madwoman, cuffed and scared, well... he could too. “But Rose,” he said softly, inching closer to her, “Why have you got River cuffed to a chair?” Alex was shaking her head slightly, eyes wide and terrified, but he didn’t get the tacit message.

“Because she stole you from me!” the brunette snarled, waving the knife around alarmingly close to Alex’s face. Matt stopped in his tracks. “She vamped you, with her _Hello Sweeties_ and her high heels and her trashy low-cut tops. I don’t blame _you_ ,” she said, her voice dropping to a low and intimate tone that made Matt wince with distaste, “You thought I was stuck in the other world, and you regenerated too.” Her voice grew suddenly sharper. “Wait. How do I know that you’re really the Eleventh Doctor? You might be an imposter! Even the Master, wearing a perception filter! How do I _know_? I’d _know_ if it was really you, _my_ Doctors, the Ninth or the Tenth, But this!” She threw up her hands and nearly lost hold of the knife, and Matt held his breath until she recovered her grip on it.

And then he had an idea. “Rose,” he said softly, “He’s... I mean, _I’m_... I mean, _that_ me, the tenth me, he’s _here_. It’s um... timey wimey.” He managed a smile. “You just let River go and we’ll all go find him together, yeah?” Alex flinched as the girl leaned over her with the knife.

“You’re trying to trick me,” said the young woman suspiciously, and Matt held his breath again. She was too close to Alex to risk rushing her. He thought fast... who had been nearest him when they fanned out to search for Alex? Barrowman and Penelope? He thought so...

“Right,” he said, “I think Jack is back there somewhere, and Harriet Jones, the--”

“I know who she is!”

Matt felt a wild impulse to laugh, but he knew it was half hysterical, and he managed to choke it back. “Yes, well, let me call them and one of them can go find the er... tenth me for you. Okay?” She nodded, doubtfully, and pulled the knife away from Alex, who closed her eyes with relief. Matt went to the open doorway and without looking away, shouted, “Oi, Jack! Captain! There’s someone in here who’d like to see you. And you, PM Jones. Please, _please_ come find us... please.”

John skidded around the corner, saying, “D’you really think this is the time for ro... oh. Oh, well, um...” he took in the scene and gulped once. “Right. And who’s this lovely lady?” he all but purred, putting on his best Jack Harkness appreciative leer, and the madwoman pouted.

“Don’t you recognize her, Captain?” asked Alex in a voice that was high and filled with tension. “It’s Rose. Rose Tyler. She wants to see _her_ Doctor, the ninth or the tenth Doctor--” and Alex bit off the rest of what she was going to say when the younger woman started to wave the knife around again.

“Oh, Jack,” she said reproachfully, pouting again “Don’t you like my new look? I mean, you do shag anything with a postcode, don’t you? I thought you’d like me brunette...”

John swallowed. This chick was fucking scary, unpredictable, and who knew what she would do to Alex if he or Smith tried to come close enough to get the knife away. But... wait, she wanted the ninth or tenth Doctor. Chris wasn’t here, but Dave was. He didn’t want to leave Matt and Alex alone with this woman anymore though, and he was wondering what to do when Penelope came into the room. “Oh good, Harriet,” he said, and she gave him a strange look, then took a look at the tense scene beyond him and her eyes widened.

“I’m Harriet Jones,” she said to the one person in the room she didn’t know, “Former Prime Minister.”

“I know who you are,” said the young woman with the knife, and Penelope swallowed hard. What the hell was going on here? She decided to play along and see what would happen.

“We need you to get the Tenth Doctor, ma’am,” said John, and saluted her in true Jack Harkness fashion. She swallowed hard again and nodded.

“I’ll bring him right back here, shall I? And his current Companions?” Matt almost cheered with relief at this; Penelope had gotten the picture right quick, and she'd bring Dave and maybe a security guy from the hotel or something. They’d get Alex out of this yet. And Penelope left the gloomy little room.

\---/---

“Can I have your attention, please?” said Penelope into the microphone at the front of the room, and the crowd quieted. “Thank you. Is there a doctor in the house?” She groaned inwardly as she realised what she had just said, and several young men (and a few young women) in bowties or scarves or opera capes or lapel celery raised their hands. “Not you lot! A _medical_ doctor! And a police constable!” Everyone put their hands down except for one man dressed as the Seventh Doctor and a girl in a blue TARDIS-patterned dress with a little light-up hat. “Listen, we found Alex,” said Penelope, “And she’s been - _oh_ this sounds _ludicrous_ \- she’s been kidnapped by a woman who thinks she’s Rose Tyler and that River has stolen the Doctor from her. So I need David, and a proper doctor for Alex in case she’s hurt, and a police constable for... for... well, in case we need one!”

David took the microphone from her. “Thanks, Pen,” he said, and bent down to kiss her on the cheek. “Right, you two, TARDIS and Seven, come with me and Penny here; the rest of you lot stay here and we’ll let you know what happens. Pen, can you show me where they are?”

 


	2. Found

As they approached the room where Alex was being held, David whispered in Penelope’s ear, “D’you think I should pull out all the stops? Ham it up as the Tenth?” When she nodded he sighed. “All right, whatever needs to be done...”

He still wasn’t prepared for what he saw in the room. Alex, handcuffed to a chair, and from the doorway he could see that one of her bound wrists was injured. Smith and Barrowman, trying to talk the madwoman down. And the wild-eyed girl herself, clutching a knife that could more properly be called a machete, standing threateningly over Alex. _Show time_ , he thought wryly, _let’s do this._

“Rose...” David breathed, and felt a little bit sick when the girl’s eyes lit up. “Oh Rose.” _Ham it up, Tennant. Uh..._ “The Doctor is in, Rose. I’m here. I came back for you when I found out you were here, in this universe again.” The slightly sick feeling was growing; the girl was breathing faster, looking as though all her dreams had come true, and it made David feel uneasy.

“But you left,” the crazy girl said in a tiny voice. “You left me with the duplicate and then he was just... _gone_.” She looked at David with tears in her eyes, and he began to feel pity for her as well. “You never came back for me, Doctor. Why didn’t you come back?”

David knew his lines for _this_. “I’m sorry, Rose. I’m so, _so_ sorry. I... I regenerated, and I was so sick before, and after... I didn’t know the duplicate was gone. I’m so _sorry_ , my Rose.” For just one moment, she looked like she would relent, she’d drop the knife and they could all go home. But then her expression changed from a hopeful sort of sadness to a mask of rage.

“But you went to _her_ ,” she shrieked, and everyone flinched as she used the knife to point at Alex. “You put me aside, like I meant _nothing_ , and you went to that _whore_ who calls herself River Song! You _bastard_!” The madwoman was raging now, screaming obscenities at Alex and Matt and David while tears poured down her face, and the girl - the police constable - in the TARDIS dress saw a chance and darted over to disarm her.

And then everything happened at once. The constable managed to disarm the girl calling herself Rose, and with John’s help, subdue her physically, while David kept murmuring apologies - _I’m so sorry, Rose, so so sorry_ \- into her ear. The man dressed as the seventh Doctor hurried around behind Alex’s chair to see about getting her un-cuffed and checked for injury.

Matt dropped to his knees at Alex’s feet, babbling, “You’re all right now, Alex, okay love, we’ve got you, you’re safe now, it’s all right, god, _Alex_ , are you okay, sweetheart, are you all right?” His frantic reassurances turned to equally frantic questions when she didn’t respond. “Doctor, what’s wrong with her, what...?”

“She’ll be all right, Mr. Smith,” said the doctor as the constable and David and Penelope managed to wrestle the madwoman out of the room. “She’s in shock, and I think her wrist is sprained, but she will be _fine_. She just needs care. And to get these handcuffs off,” he muttered, “I wish they hadn’t hustled her out of here without getting the key first.”

“I have a handcuff key,” offered John, and Matt looked up at him with a peculiar combination of shock and amusement. “Shut up, Smith,” said John before Matt could speak. “I’m in costume, and I’m sure Captain Jack _always_ has handcuffs.” He smiled that brilliant Jack Harkness smile down at Alex. “Come on, Alex honey, we’ll get you out of this soon.” Alex nodded slowly, and Matt put his forehead to hers, murmuring reassurances as John handed a small key to the doctor.

“This is going to hurt, Miss Kingston,” said the doctor gruffly as he accepted the key. “Your wrist has swollen around the bracelet of the cuff. You might want to hold on to something.” Matt gave the doctor one wild look and then slid his hands into Alex’s hair, bringing her face close and kissing her. He poured all the passion and worry and caring he could into the kiss, and Alex gave a single sob into his mouth as the cuff came loose and then she was kissing him back and oh god, so _sweet_ , so...

Alex breathed his name against his lips. “Matt? What...?”

“Just distracting you from the pain in your wrist, Kingston,” Matt said in a low voice, but he didn’t pull away.

Alex gave a tiny choked laugh. “I have wrists?” she said wonderingly, and then she kissed him, sliding her left hand - the uninjured one - into his hair. The doctor examined Alex’s injured wrist and looked up at John, since the other two in the room were... distracted.

“It’s just a sprain,” he said, “A bad one, but just a sprain. And she’s got a nasty bump on the head - I imagine that’s how our ‘Rose’ got her down here in the first place, by knocking her out - but she’ll be all right. Wouldn’t hurt to get her to A&E but I don’t think it’s _required_.”

“Um,” said John, “Alex? D’you want to go to hospital to get checked out?” Alex pulled away from Matt and looked at John, shook her head, then made as if to kiss Matt again. But he stopped her.

“Are you sure?” he murmured, putting his forehead gently against hers again. “Could get you properly looked after... not that you're not a proper doctor, doctor, I’m sure you are, but...” he trailed off as the doctor smiled at him.

“No offense taken,” said the man dressed as the seventh Doctor. “You’re worried and that’s fine. But she really will be all right; she just needs care. Ice and rest. Wherever she feels comfortable.”

\---/---

Steven turned the mic back on. “Right then, everyone, thanks for your patience. Not that it’s anything like the patience required to wait for a new series of _Who_...” He trailed off and waited for the laughter and applause to die down, then got serious. “Look, you lot. I have something important to say here. Alex will be fine, you know that now. But she _might not have been_ , because a fan took her fandom too far.” He cleared his throat. “Now the vast majority of you enjoy the show, some of you write about the characters or even the actors--”

“I’ve read some of that,” put in John loudly, “and guys, I’m not _that_ kinky. Jack is, but I’m not. It’s pretty hot to read though.”

“Shut up, Barrowman,” said Steven affectionately. “I’m oratin’. Right, well, some of you write fan fiction, or draw or paint or make up songs and videos from show clips, or dress in some amazing costumes...” he nodded at the chubby man dressed as a Slitheen. “And that’s great, we love you lot for it. But _this_... this poor woman. She was mad.” He took a deep breath. “And for someone who’s mad, the fantasy world that is our _Who_ can be a very confusing place. She truly believed that she was Rose Tyler, that the Doctor had left her for River Song, and she was out for revenge. And I know you lot aren’t unbalanced like that, but _please_ , do your best to keep it that way, to keep that divide between the fantasy and the reality nice and sharp...” He trailed off uncomfortably, which was terribly unlike him, and the small crowd in the tiny room began to murmur amongst themselves.

Finally, two of them stood up. “I’d like to say something, if I may,” said the man dressed as the seventh doctor somewhat diffidently, and the girl in the TARDIS dress nodded. Steven beckoned them up to the front and handed the mic over. “We went down there to help, Alice here and me,” he said, grabbing TARDIS-girl’s hand, “And well, I’m a doctor - a medical doctor - and she’s a constable, and we’ve both seen our share of crazy people in our work. The woman calling herself Rose Tyler here today was _mad_ ; people who aren’t are not really in danger of going off the deep end like this, whether it’s _Who_ or... or... shoot-em-up video games or naughty pictures. But Mr. Moffat is right; you should still make sure that you don’t take it too seriously, even if you’re not mad. Just... remember that it’s all in good fun, yeah?” There were nods all around the room and he smiled, his rather plain face lighting up and becoming almost handsome. “Well, and _something_ good came out of all this,” he said shyly, and pulled Alice-the-TARDIS girl toward him and kissed her. The small room exploded with cheers and applause and _awwwwws_ coming from a number of fans.

David leaned over to John and said under cover of the noise, “I’m betting he’s not the only bloke getting snogged over this,” and he made a small gesture toward the ceiling of the room. John laughed.

“It’s about time, don’t you think?”

\---/---

“Thank you for staying, Matt,” said Alex in a small and unsure voice. “I’m sorry to be so... needy about this; it’s just a sprain...”

Matt smiled down at her. “And a mild concussion and a major shock. The doctor said you need care, Kingston; I’m here to look after you.”

“But you don’t have to if you’d like to be downstairs at the convention; I could handle it on my own.” He heard the little quaver in her voice and knew that she _could_ handle it alone if she had to, but...

“I’d rather be here, Alex.” His voice was soft, and she felt tears prickle behind her eyes. “Oh, _Alex_ ,” he said, even more softly. “Come here.” He held out one hand and she groped for it blindly through the tears. He led her to the sofa bed in the sitting area of her suite and sat down, drawing her down with him and putting his arms around her, gathering her in, mindful of her bandaged wrist. “That’s it, love, let it out, you’re all right.” he murmured into her hair, which Penelope had helped her wash before she’d gone back downstairs.

“The poor girl,” Alex sobbed into Matt’s chest, and he felt his heart contract. Alex was a better person than he was, he thought, if she could forgive the madwoman and feel pity for her already; he knew he would eventually but at the moment he was in _no_ mood to forgive anyone who had hurt and frightened the woman sobbing in his arms.

They sat together like that for a long time, Matt rocking Alex slightly and murmuring little reassurances into her hair as the sobs slowly subsided. When her breathing evened out and he knew she had fallen asleep he tried to shift her down onto the couch but she clung to him with her good hand even in her sleep, so he just laid back and brought her with him. Eventually he slept too.

Matt woke to Alex kissing him, and he cooperated enthusiastically until he noticed that she was crying again. He sat up, careful of her wrist, and broke the kiss. “Alex...?”

“I’m sorry,” Alex whispered, and he reached up and thumbed away the tears.

“Don’t be, Kingston. It’s been quite an ordeal for you, and that’s just the parts I was there for.” He shuddered lightly. “Do you want to talk about it?”  She just shook her head and brought her face to his again, _this_ kiss hot and urgent and nearly desperate, and Matt pulled away with a groan. “Alex,” he said intensely. “I need to know what you want.”

“You,” she said simply, and he shook his head.

“No... I need to know. Is it _me_ you want? Or comfort?” Matt took a deep and ragged breath. “I’ll willingly provide either, Alex, but I need to know; which is it?” Alex looked at him, eyes wide and dilated.

“Both,” she said, and reached for him.

**Author's Note:**

> I have met a few people on the convention circuit who suffer from Delusional Disorder, of an unspecified type where they believe they truly are a character from their favorite fandom. This story is not about those people; the ones I know have *harmless* delusions. This story is what happens when the delusions go too far. 
> 
> And what my mom was afraid of when I started role-playing games.
> 
> It's all fiction here, even where names are those of the real people. None of these characters are based on real people, even those who believe otherwise.


End file.
